Brightfire says "Do you think that pushing me away will make me mourn you any less? Do you think the elves won't mourn you for centuries after you die?!"

"It is a completely different thing to mourn a lover than to mourn a hero."

Lin says "I'm sorry to butt in, but why are you going to die in two years?!"

Even though Brightfire is standing there glaring at me, I take the time to explain to Lin. I had told her I was summoned, but not the details of how and why I was summoned. Since she is likely to become someone important to me, I tell her everything.

Lin says "Alright, I understand now. That seems like a fairly harsh deal, but it is hard to argue with a goddess. However, I think your reason for pushing Brightfire away is completely wrong. It is easier to mourn someone when you have many fond memories to comfort you."

Brightfire says "Does that mean you are giving up on Ash?"

Lin says "Of course not! But I am willing to share him."

Brightfire says "Share him? Hm, I suppose I could consider that."

"Hey, hold your horses you two! Don't go trying to decide anything for me, I still haven't said I was going to sleep with anyone!"

Lin says "True, but if we agree to work together and team up to seduce you we have better odds."

Brightfire says "I hadn't even thought of that. You are really smart!"

"Enough! There will be no seduction or any other means of influencing me. This is a decision I need to make for myself."

Lin says "If that is your wish, then so be it. I just hope you won't take too long to decide."

Brightfire says "That's it? You are giving up so easily?"

Lin says "I thought you claimed you knew Ash? How can you not know that arguing with him will only make him more stubborn?"

Brightfire says "That's true, but can we really trust him to make a decision? How do we stop him from running away or making more excuses?"

"You do remember that I am right here, right?"

Lin says "We know. Is anything we have said untrue?"

"Well, no. I guess I can't really argue against anything that you have said. You still should be having this conversation privately."

Lin says "Wouldn't you feel worse if the two of us were in the corner whispering to each other?"

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"Yeah, probably."

Brightfire says "Don't worry, Ash. We will only plot against you for your own good!"

"That is not reassuring."

That makes the two of them giggle, but then they go over to a corner and start whispering. Lin uses a spell to keep me from overhearing them, which makes me nervous. Then again, even if they are plotting against me, it is good that they are getting along.

Although, I have to admit that the thought of watching the two of them fight does appeal to me. I doubt there are many men who wouldn't want to watch two beauties fighting over them. For a second my control of my mind slips and I find myself wondering if I can make jello.

Since Lin moved the baby phoenix has been clumsily wandering around the cabin. She is poking her head into basically everything in order to satisfy her curiosity. To take my mind off the girls I start trying to think of a good name for her.

After thinking for a bit I come up with an idea, I will name the phoenix Mulan and the drake Mushu. I think that should work well enough even if the drake ends up being female. Besides, I can't think of a single phoenix that has a name in any of the anime I can remember.

I think about it for a while longer, but I can't come up with anything better. When I think about it, the name Mulan really is suitable for a phoenix. Since I have full energy right now, I go ahead and call the little phoenix over to me.

"Little one, from now on your name is Mulan!"

There is a crack of thunder in the cabin as all of my mana pours out of me at once. This is a much more violent reaction than I have seen before when naming a kid. My best guess is that it has something to do with the phoenix being a legendary beast.

It could also have something to do with the fact that the phoenix isn't a newborn, but a rebirth. In fact, it is entirely possible that the phoenix is the oldest creature I have met. Only the dragon and the goddesses could possibly be comparable in age.

Lin says "Ash, just what was that? I felt as much mana as a greater spell would use."

"It was me naming the phoenix."

Brightfire says "Oh! What did you name her?"

Lin says "What does naming have to do with mana?"

"Her name is Mulan."

Despite feeling tired and drained from using all my mana, I do my best to explain naming to Lin. I thought for sure that the mages of the Magic Kingdom would have known about naming. Then again, since they control beasts through magic, they probably didn't bother studying them.

Once I satisfy Lin's curiosity I meditate for a while to recover some mana. While I am meditating the girls finish their conversation and when I open my eyes Brightfire is gone. Lin is meditating again and Mulan is currently napping on top of my head.

When I check, the fire has gone out again, which is why Mulan is sleeping on me. Getting up, I take the drake egg out, clean out the ashes, and then refill the coal. Once the fire is going again, I put the drake egg back in and Mulan as well.

Mulan wakes up when I move her so I create some magical fire and feed her. I also feed the drake egg while I am at it and then take out food for Nala and Albion. I make sure to give them some affection, I don't want to ignore them because I have a new kid.

"Lin, dinner time."

Lin says "Alright, thank you."

"How's the purification going?"

Lin says "It has gotten much easier. Currently, I am about halfway done. I think I will be finished in another hour or two."

"That's good. You can finish after you eat and then I will teach you the next step. Oh, how did your chat with Brightfire go?"

Lin says "Better than I expected, honestly. If she didn't care so much about you it would have been a lot harder to convince her."

"Convince her of what?"

Lin says "That even without me she would end up having to share you. Once she gets used to the idea of sharing you, everything else will be easier."

"Is that all you talked about?"